I've never read a Vonnegut book...

[Fountain79]

What's a good book of his to start with?

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. Slaughterhouse Five.

[Sanity Claws]

2. My recommendation too

It's a classic anti-war book.

[grace0418]

17. That book has stuck with me through the years. So that gets my rec as well.

Cat's Cradle is another great choice.

[greendog]

3. I think Vonnegut has said that he thought "Cat's Cradle" ...

...was his best effort.

It's a great book.

[Goblinmonger]

9. Vonnegut graded his works

Here it is via wikipedia (and you are correct that he liked Cat's Cradle best in a tie with Slaughterhouse-Five)

In Chapter 18 of his book Palm Sunday "The Sexual Revolution," Vonnegut grades his own works. He states that the grades "do not place me in literary history" and that he is comparing "myself with myself." The grades are as follows:

Player Piano: B
The Sirens of Titan: A
Mother Night: A
Cat's Cradle: A-plus
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: A
Slaughterhouse-Five: A-plus
Welcome to the Monkey House: B-minus
Happy Birthday, Wanda June: D
Breakfast of Champions: C
Slapstick: D
Jailbird: A
Palm Sunday: C

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut#Writing

[greendog]

11. Yeah, here's an interview where he talks about "Cat's Cradle"

From:
Harvard Crimson Interview
by Christopher Blazejewski
Harvard Crimson, May 19, 2000
~~~
THC: Which one of your books is closest to you?

KV: Well, my flagship is Cat's Cradle. One guy told me that his three favorite books all have ''Cat'' in their title: Catch 22, Catcher in the Rye, Cat's Cradle.

THC: That's a favorite for many of your readers. What makes it so special?

KV: It has certainly been a successful ship, and it's beautifully constructed. I often ask myself where it all came from. Reminds me of a man named Ted who we hired to fix our house on Cape Cod after it was nearly destroyed in a storm. He poured the concrete for the foundation, built the side walls, built the siding, constructed the roof, installed the windows, and everything else. When he was done, he called him me out and asked if I liked it. He did a great job, and while he was looking at the house as a whole, he turned to me and said, ''How the fuck did I do that?'' That is how I feel about many of my books.
More:
http://www.vonnegutweb.com/vonnegutia/interviews/int_crimson.html

[Orsino]

4. If you want funny...

Breakfast Of Champions might be the place to start. For sheer beauty, there's Bluebeard.

[YDogg]

6. Yeah, I enjoyed Breakfast of Champions.

[asthmaticeog]

7. Thank you for saying "Bluebeard."

It's one of my faves and I'm always astonished at how it's consistently overlooked. :thumbsup:

[Forkboy]

15. It's my favorite one.

And that's saying something.

[terrya]

8. God, so many to choose. I'd also choose "Galapagos"

"Galapagos" is one of my favorite Vonnegut novels.

[RoyGBiv]

5. Cat's Cradle

That's the first of his books I gave my daughter, and it hooked her at sixteen. She's since read everything the man has ever written she or I could find. I think she read _Slaughterhouse Five_ after that and then _Breakfast of Champions_ (or Goodbye Blue Monday).



It's hard to go wrong with any of them, imo. Some are a bit weirder than others, but I can't think of one of his books I didn't enjoy.

I'd also recommend _A Man Without a Country_ for insight into his thoughts on life from about 2000 through 2005 through a series of essays and such. Great comments on modern times in that one:

“I asked former Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton what he thought of our great victory over Iraq and he said, ‘Mohammed Ali versus Mr. Rogers.’” -- A Man Without a Country

[EFerrari]

10. You might want to consider his last one, A Man Without a Country.

It's a short and casually brilliant statement about living in BushWorld. :)

[catmandu57]

12. I've always liked Jailbird

and Hocus Pocus, well actually all of them.

[EFerrari]

14. I bought a new copy of Jailbird yesterday.

For some reason, it seems like just the right read.

[catmandu57]

18. It mirrors the times doesn't it

Vonnegut was writing about watergate and all the principles caught up in that one, someone else is going to have to pick up the story for the current mess.

[EFerrari]

22. I'm still pissed that he's gone.

This time-space thing is for the birds.

[undeterred]

13. Sirens of Titan

I happened on it by accident. Its fun, its funny, its deep. I haven't read all his books, just a couple of others, but I read this one first and I liked it the best.

[Forkboy]

16. Just grab one and start reading...you'll want more.

:)

[last_texas_dem]

19. Jailbird or Mother Night

I would recommend either of those if I were basing my recommendation on my personal favorites out of the Vonnegut books I've read.

I'd recommend Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse Five if I were basing my recommendation on what it seems like the most Vonnegut fans like. Those two seem to be his books most commonly cited as "classics."

But really, you can start just about anywhere, I guess... the first one I read was Palm Sunday, a hodge-podge of autobiographical material, essays, a play, and other randomness (Vonnegut describes this type of book as being a "blivot", which I think he said means "two pounds of shit in a one-pound bag", or something along those lines!) after a friend who I worked on a political campaign with gave it to me to read. I liked it quite a bit, and it got me interested in reading more of his works.

[Gatchaman]

20. I think I'm the only person in the world

who loves "Deadeye Dick" and doesn't like "Sirens of Titan".

BTW, Deadeye Dick has nothing to do with Dick "Dick" Cheney.

[sarge43]

21. He was a master of the short story. Welcome to the Monkey House

would be a good place to start.